Electrical engineering major Wesley Fullmer, civil, environmental and sustainable engineering major Albert Stanton, chemical engineering major Pradyumna Kadambi and biomedical engineering major John Ernzen of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Maroon team took home the trophy at this years Academic Bowl over the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences team with a final score of 315. (Photo by Jessie Wardarski)The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Maroon team took first place in ASU’s seventh annual Academic Bowl on Thursday night.
Civil engineering sophomore Albert Stanton, a member of the winning team, said it was a good accomplishment for the school.
“The (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) team is always the one to beat us so I’m glad we finally won,” he said.
The engineering team beat the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maroon team 315 points to 120 points in the final round.
The final round of the match was broadcast live from the KAET Eight studios on the Downtown campus.
Each year, prizes are awarded in the form of scholarships.
The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Maroon team won $24,000 to be divided between players and alternates at the team’s discretion.
Stanton said he is going to use the money he won to help pay for school.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maroon team won $10,000 for coming in second place and the W. P. Carey School of Business team won $5,000 for coming in third.
Math, finance and economics junior Ken Qian said he was inspired when he saw the Academic Bowl finals on TV one year.
This year, Qian competed on the W. P. Carey School of Business team.
He said his team first divided all the categories between its members, so each person had a specific area to study.
“Each source is responsible for their own category,” he said.
Qian said he is strongest in literature and history.
He said he learned a lot about other countries and developed a broader global perspective during his studying.
“You really have to accumulate the knowledge over time, though,” he said. “It’s not something you can study for a few nights ahead.”
Biomedical engineering junior John Ernzen said he competed in academic decathlon during high school and has been part of the engineering school’s team since his freshman year at ASU.
Last year, he and his team took third in the competition.
This year, Ernzen served as the captain of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s Maroon team.
As captain, Ernzen is responsible for disputing answers during the matches and speaking for the team, he said.
“I had to get four people who didn’t know each other a few weeks ago to work together and succeed,” he said.
Ernzen said he likes competing in the Academic Bowl, because it lasts for only a few weeks each year.
He said it looks good on a résumé, but that really is not why most people choose to enter.
“People who chose to do it generally just love knowledge and new information,” he said. “We’re trivia people.”
Many people brought signs and cheered for their favorite team.
Biomedical engineering senior Joel Ayala said he attended the final round of the competition because he has a friend on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maroon team. He said he enjoyed watching the event.
“I like trivia and (The Academic Bowl) is very competitive,” he said. “It’s fun to watch.”
Associate Vice President of Public Affairs Marketing and Strategic Communications Terri Shafer said the competition is fun to watch.
“You can clearly see the intensity and excitement of the competition in the faces of the players during a match,” she said.
Shafer said some colleges, schools and team members do a particularly good job of getting faculty, staff, students and parents to come to their matches.
“The audience provides support and encouragement for the teams and adds to the excitement of the competition,” Shafer said.
Reach the reporter at hblawren@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @hannah_lawr
